St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-31
PRIVATE BANKS.
" Banker" Takes Exceptions to
Some of Examiner Knox's Re
marks.


marks.
To the Editor Of the Globe.
We have read with more than ordi-.
nary surprise the response of Examiner
Knox, of date of the Goth. OF course
we expect from his long tenure in Of
flee that he will be tinctured with de-
gree of superciliousness, but surely, as
an inspectOr-an advisor, mentor-it is
not fair for him to ''wiggle" He should
not say ''that we fire from behind trees
in the dark, at random" nor intimate
that we are disposed to discuss his
project in an unmanly way.
There are 119 of us, as he reports; we
all sign as bankers, are all interested, not
so much in discussing projects as in re-
futing charges, and it should not matter
so much to ''our friend' as to the form
or even manner of refutatiOn. 1t should
be his earnest will and pleasure to give
attention to our plants and hasten to
relieve us from putative odium if it be
unjust.
The reporter in the issue of the 18th
inst. credited him with charging us in
the exact terms of the Indictment, eX-
cept that he added that we made affi-
davit to one statement for the assessor
diSavOwal of the same date, Mr.. Knox
tasks the privilege of correcting remarks
attributed TO me. 1t would be quite i'm
possible for me to say that persons
would make themselves liable to
the charge of perjury by swear
ing to two different statements, one
of which must be false. Other remarks
in this, and other articles, do not at all
represent my views, but L only take
time to distinctly disavOw the above"
We claim this diSavOwal to be of the
perjury part of the charge and nothing
more, and that it left the imputatiOns, in
all their uglineSS, to stand. viz: that we
made such counter statements, though
unsworn to; that we nefariouSly
avoided the payment of our proper,
ton of taxes; that we advertise fictitious
capital; that we were guilty of false pre-
tense in the use of corporate names with
titled corporate officers, and for the pur-
pose of deceiving the people. No other
Inference could be drawn from the
declaration To that challenge we re-
spOnded, and our friend says the re-
Spouse is unfair and unmanly. THAT
the indictment above he had distinctly
disayowed over his own signature;
that he did not distinctly dis
avOw the other statements, be-
CduSC t5tCl mOIC OO
surd as to need no contradiction. Life
is too short to go into answers to state
ments which need no refutatiOn on ac-
count of their essential Inanity."-
Thanks, awfully. Now since the dis
avOwed Indictment contains all the
charges made. will our friend please
state specifically what of the statements
remain ochargeable 6to ''inanity" :and
what to the inventive genius of the
reporter? If the charges be then
disavOwed. if the grounds there
for did not in fact exist, then
will our friend state the real grounds
and occasion for his great act? He evil
IDENTIFY ''wriggles," he intended the
charges which reflection and investiga-
ton have convinced him were false.
We accept now his disavOwal, though
obscure and lugubrious, and welcome
his advances to friendly plane. We
are glad to know, also, that he
disavows and disowns the ''cOm-
panion act" which, from his letters
and circular commencing the same, we
were led to suppose he had also insti-
gated just to make incorporation easy,
as it were. The first act was political
as well as business crime for which.
twenty-five years ago and before he had
become so familiar with paternal gov
tIHltfS, WOulu UdNC DCCu
condemned to the chat n gang for Sug-
costing; but in these days when people
are bribed by legislative bounty into
destroying their own growing nuiSanceS
and are prompted to moral reform byStat-
utOry clubs. acrObatic legislation may be
reasonably expected. This act was in
tended to throttle honorable individual
enterprise and to substitute the varying
conscience of Soulless corporations
therefor. The latter act was but an in
vitation, in legal way. to despoil the
people. and it would seem to have been
the duty of our public officials who so
thoroughly disapproved and distrusted
it to have warned the bankers of the
state against it in the interest
of correct business methods. Our
friend invites to discussion, but we
do not seem to have any issues left for
consideration the Objectionable legiSla-
ton has fallen into diSrepUte by virtue
of its own inherent repugnance to the
the good sense of the people, and its
violation of the spirit and terms of the
constitution, as determined by the scru-
tiny and good judgment of our worthy
attorney general. No harm has been done
so far except to the few banks which
have Incorporated under such acts.
the legal status of which is now some
what doubtful. and they are out the ex-
penses attending their incorporation.
A little judiciOuS direction would have
saved them their present confusion.
Yet some possible good may have been
accomplished by the wholesome check
so far administered for the exercise of a
certain degree of supercilious arrogance
displayed in an unwarranted interior
ance with the legitimate business of a
large and respectable class of the bust
ness people of our state. BANKER.
Dec. %.
A PItiable Affair.